Lawmakers, Governor at odds over revenue estimates

BATON ROUGE–The special legislative session collapsed Monday in part because some Republicans questioned Gov. John Bel Edwards’ projections of the state budget shortfall, and updated estimates this spring could be crucial to negotiating a solution.

Edwards started out trying to replace $994 million in tax revenue expiring July 1 to avoid cuts in health care and higher education. He lowered that to $662 million after state economists predicted that the state will receive a $302 million windfall from federal tax changes.